Police have arrested a woman accused of murdering her two young children at an apartment in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood on Tuesday night. Officials with Miami Police said they received numerous 911 calls from a woman who did appear to be in a emotional turmoil and in a crisis around 8 p.m.
Authorities said the woman had been calling 911 on a regular basis but had never stated why she was contacting them.
Officers encountered Odette Joassaint, 41, at a home in the 100 block of Northeast 75th Street, allegedly telling them, “Come get them, I don’t want them anymore.”
Officers discovered Joassaint’s two children, a 5-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy, bound in a bedroom as they searched the apartment.
The children were both pronounced dead at the scene after Miami Fire Rescue attempted to save their lives.
Miami Mother Arrested For Allegedly Killing Her 2 Children
“Even a seasoned officer like myself who’s been on the force 25 years, it’s heartbreaking,” Miami Police spokesman Mike Vega said. “It’s something sad to see, two kids that are just starting to live their lives have lost their lives.”
According to Miami Police, Joassaint was taken to a hospital. She was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder later that night. She is being jailed without bond.
In a statement to NBC 6, the Department of Children and Families described the deaths as “devastating.”
“The department is working closely with law enforcement to uncover the circumstances that caused the tragic and untimely death of these two children,” the statement read in part.
